ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Sudan to Pakistan Al-Shafia Ahammad Mohammad has stressed the need for free trade among the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) member states to exploit the existing potential and ensure maximum possible trade exchange among them.
"We need to encourage the OIC member countries to increase their share in intra-OIC trade to bring prosperity among them and their people", said Al- Shafia Ahammad Mohammad while talking to APP at a reception hosted by Mian M Saeed Ariay Daraywalay in his honour here.
Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Shah, Chief Coordinator of President for Punjab Affairs Naveed Chaudhry and member Audit Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Hafiz M Amir, diplomats, journalists and parliamentarians also attended the reception.
The Sudanese Ambassador also called for removing all barriers to trade among OIC member countries, saying the creation of free trade among the OIC countries would ensure increase in trade between the Islamic nations and the private sector had an important role in this regard.
The Ambassador said that the world was facing several challenges, including poverty, hunger, terrorism, global recession, and natural disasters.
He said that Islamic world was not immune to those challenges, and should come together to tackle them by encouraging trade with one another.
He also stressed the need for exchange of business delegations among OIC member states and greater interaction among their private sectors, which was engine of growth for the benefit of the Muslim Ummah.
The Ambassador said that Pakistan had suffered a lot due to its role as a frontline state against war on terror.
He urged the OIC member countries to invest in Pakistan to support its economy.
He appreciated Pakistan's liberal investment policies and incentives being offered by the country in various sectors like chemicals, textiles, dairy farming, agriculture, energy, etc for investment.
He said the investors of the OIC countries must take advantage and make investment here.
Al Shafia Ahammad Mohammad also commended the efforts of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) for hosting OIC trade and investment conference at Bhurban (Murree).
He expressed the hope that the LCCI initiative would help promote trade and investment cooperation among the member states for the prosperity of the Muslim Ummah.
The Bhurban OIC trade conference was attended among others by ambassadors of OIC countries and diplomats. LCCI Senior Vice president Kashif Younis Meher, Vice president Saeeda Nazar, Convener of Sanding Committee on OIC Hasnain Reza Mirza and LCCI EC Member Syed Mahmood Ghaznavi also spoke at the conference.